Strolling Down The Ramblas

Start your tour by taking the Metro (lines 1 or 3) or bus to Plaça de Catalunya, an elegant space laid out amid Belle Ėpoque buildings in the early 20th century by Puig i Cadafalch, one of Barcelona's signature architects.

Whether or not you get a chance to admire it depends on the political state of play; it's a favorite spot for peace campaigners or other protestors to set up camp--in which case it will look more like a festival than a snapshot of gracious living from a bygone age.

The city's main tourist office lurks in a subterranean lair below the square, so it may be worth taking the chance to sort out any queries or bookings you have for the rest of your trip. Then, with the enormous ocean liner-style Art Deco hulk of the El Corte Inglés department store on your left, begin your stroll down the Ramblas.

You will be met by the prospect of a wide, central boulevard for pedestrians flanked by narrow lanes of traffic. As you walk along, you will find that La Rambla, changes moniker a number of times; the names reflect the historic activities staged there.

The first, Rambla de Canaletes, owes its name to the Font de Canaletes, an elaborate drinking fountain that doubles as a landmark meeting spot. You might also come across the first of the many human statues or street entertainers that dot the thoroughfare, theatrically costumed and in heavy greasepaint, many embracing a look that's somewhere between Mexico's Day of the Dead and Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas"; others look like refugees from 'Pan's Labyrinth'.

Saunter past around 4pm and you may see a shift change taking place, as the weary entertainers disrobe and scrub off the face paint, while a replacement gears up and gets in character.

You can plonk yourself in a seat for a while to drink it all in; there are plenty of outdoor cafe options as you head south (and you'll probably want to people watch, glass in hand, from at least one) but the prices are pretty eye-watering.

Make your way toward Carrer de la Portaferrissa along the stretch formally known as the Rambla del Estudis, but more descriptively as Rambla dels Ocells, reflecting both the stacked cages of a bird market and the sparrows roosting in the canopy of plane trees that stretch above. Not all the bird song you hear is for real--expect to be approached by the volubly twittering young men who patrol the street, hands thrust deep in wind-cheater pockets where they keep stashes of small mechanical bird tweeters, which they are desperate to unload.

A little farther on, the Rambla de les Flors features--amid the bulky news and souvenir stands--a cluster of flower vendors' stalls with a dazzling array of colorful, aromatic blooms and artful arrangements sufficient to aid every would-be suitor in the city with a bumper bouquet. It's always a cheerful sight, so thank the 19th century city fathers who decreed that this (then) was the only place in town where flowers could be sold.

Head to the right for more evidence of nature's bounty. In a famously photogenic city, La Boqueria market (formally known as the Mercat de Sant Josep--you will see both names on the coat of arms sign suspended from the stained glass and wrought-iron gateway) is sure to have you reaching for your camera.

The stall holders display their wares in eye-catching tiers of colorful fruity mosaic and geometric precision, making it hard to decide whether its the luscious peaches, nectarines, plums, pears, apples, oranges, cherries or raspberries that look juiciest, or how much Serrano ham, chorizo or cheese you should snap up for a do-it-yourself tapas platter.

Pyramids of peppers, oodles of onions, and gargantuan melons, cucumbers, aubergines and zucchini add a savory tang. There are bars and hot chocolate stalls to hang out at and grab-and-go trays of sliced or skewered fruit salad if you want to munch on the hoof.

----
La Rambla 91,08001
93-412-1315
---
Hours
Monday-Saturday 8am-8pm

Come out where you entered and back on La Rambla and a few steps away on your right you'll find a sanctuary for those for whom fructose is not the sugar rush of choice.

At La Rambla 83, behind the shimmering mosaic and peacock stained glass of the Modernista-style Antigua Casa Figueras--a 1902 building that reflects the full flowering of Catalan Art Nouveau--you'll find a branch of the pasteleria Escribà, full of pastries and sweetmeats, that many aficionados claim are the best in town.
---
Address: Rambla de les Flors, 83
Phone: 93.301.60.27

Tack over to the left and look above the rather incongruous ground floor façade of the Caixa Sabadell at Rambla 82, on the corner with Plaça de la Boqueria, to check out the quirky Modernist flourishes of the Casa Bruno Cuadros, where metal parasols stud the walls of the upper floors and a fantailed Chinese dragon projects into the square.

Beneath the dragon, the slightly surreal, jauntily angled umbrella that spears the building alludes to the Casa's early 20th century use as an umbrella shop.
---
Address: Rambla 82/Pla de la Boqueria, 1

The halfway point of La Rambla is marked a few steps farther on in the middle of the thoroughfare, where a large, abstract tiled mosaic in his signature primary colors is the handiwork of distinguished Catalan artist Joan Miró, who was born a few streets away in the Barri Gòtic. If you are traveling with kids get them to play hunt the signature. For more Miró, schedule time to take in the terrific gallery entirely devoted to his works in Montjuïc.

You are now entering the primary people-watching stretch of La Rambla, the Rambla dels Caputxins, named for the habits of the monks who once held sway in these parts. It became a haunt of the bourgeoisie, thanks to the presence of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, one of the world's leading opera houses, and reopened in 1999 following a catastrophic fire. The fire devastated the artist most closely identified with it, the larger-than-life Catalan diva Montserrat Caballé--known to the pop world for a crossover hymn to Barcelona recorded with Queen's Freddie Mercury. You can take in its classically inspired Hall of Mirrors and the opulent interior on guided or self-guided tours--though there's nothing to beat taking in a performance if the opportunity presents itself.

Back across on the left, is the venerable Café de l'Ópera, but--tempting as the sidewalk pews are, particularly on a sunny day--you really need to venture inside to appreciate the décor from 1929, in the Noucentista style, which harkens back to the Belle Epoque.

It's the sort of place where, as night falls, you might find yourself seated between a dapper professor and flamboyantly dressed intellectual on one side and a Scrabble-playing couple on the other. You almost expect the waiters to be serving shots of absinthe. But the rarified atmosphere is not at all exclusive, as the cerebral customers share the place with gaggles of women who come in to pore over maps, pick the brains of the waiters and plan their night's entertainment.

---
Address: C/ la Rambla, 74
Phone: 933 177 585
Hours: Monday through Thursday and Sunday 8:30am - 2:15pm; Friday and Saturday 8:30am - 2:45pm

Continue to stroll toward the sea and on the right you'll see the Hotel Oriente, a former convent still boasting an Art Nouveau frontage and handsomely traditional public areas in a confident mid-19th century style. When author Ernest Hemingway wasn't running with the bulls in the Basque country, he liked to stay here. A certain stately charm means it remains one of the most atmospheric places to stay on La Rambla.

---
Address: Ramblas 45
Phone: 933 022 558

Proceed until you reach Carrer Nou de La Rambla where, just off to the right on the fringe of the Raval neighborhood, you'll find the Palau Güell, a white marble-fronted mansion the young Antoní Gaudí designed for his most loyal supporter, the shipowner Güell.

It re-opened in May 2011 following a major renovation and, while the shabby street seems an unlikely spot to find a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inside there's a strange netherworld of dark marble, brick arches and capitals and ornate wrought iron works and stained glass, all signaling features that would become motifs of Gaudí's career.

The roof terrace is where his flights of fancy really soar, the sculpted space-rocket-style chimneys covered in the trencadís--fragments of mashed-up earthenware, glass and glazed tile--set in swirling mosaics that distinguish so much of his later, more famous work.

Back on the Ramblas, especially at night, you'll see the pavement restaurants fill up as wave after wave of visitor heads inexorably port-ward. It can feel like something of a corridor, so if you want the general buzz of a lively spot, but prefer a little less exposure to the tsunami of visitors, cross over to the left side, pass through the archway and proceed into Plaça Reial. The Italianate arcaded square is home to restaurants where tall palm trees dwarf the lamp standards designed by Gaudí and the elegant fountain of the Three Graces.

Expect to be serenaded by passing troubadours and entertained by jugglers and other street artists. You're not missing out on the drama of La Rambla, just experiencing it in a slightly less full-on way.

If you resume your stroll, the human statues and street entertainers gradually give way to streetwise acrobats and con men with their sleight-of-hand shell game, and the pavement restaurants give way to caricature artists and artwork vendors.

If you are of a dreamy disposition you can imagine yourself in the footsteps of young Daniel Sempere who wandered the Rambla de Santa Mónica in Carlos Ruiz Zafón's thrilling Gothic page-turner, the worldwide bestseller, "The Shadow of the Wind." Beyond that, the bottom part of the street isn't really somewhere you'd choose to linger. There is a new Rambla de Mar extending the boulevard out into the sea. To explore that, download the On the Waterfront tour.